Reluctant Doesn't Cut It
by 205
Summary: Harry is removed from the Dursleys. Who better to take him in than one Severus Snape? Love grows where it wants to. Watch out. *Not Severitus*
1. With the Dursleys

Harry was locked in the cupboard again. His stomach growled in protest against three days without food. He was strictly monitored when he was brought out, and had been unable to smuggle anything into his cupboard. Water alone wasn't enough to quell the hunger pangs. He curled in on himself and tried to find oblivion as an escape from his situation.

The cupboard door opened and he felt a feeble thump on his back before hearing the door close and the padlock snap shut again. When he managed to summon up the energy, he turned and found a nearly empty packet of crackers on the floor. Relieved, he tried unsuccessfuly to ration them. As he licked the crumbs from the packaging, he hoped this was a sign that his punishment would soon be over. Vernon and Petunia had been much more irate lately, with him at least, and they now punished him for much less cause than before. His current predicament had come about when he had failed to serve Vernon a prompt second helping during dinner. For his deficiency in predicting his uncle's whims, Vernon had smacked him soundly and yelled that if he didn't want the _proper_ family to eat, then he wouldn't be getting anything himself.

In the evening, after he heard the dinner party guests leaving (what did_ they_ do to get such favourable treatment?), he heard Petunia and Vernon mention 'the boy' and perked his ears up.

'They sent a letter... ...checking up on him... ...if we don't reply..."

He heard only snatches before they went upstairs and out of earshot. He wondered if there had been a letter for him, and what would make anyone interested in him. He fell asleep amid fantasies of his parents who, he was sure (mostly), would like him better than Dudley.

The doorbell woke him the next morning and he pressed his ear to the grate on the cupboard door to give himself warning of his relatives' doings. He felt his uncle come down the stairs and listened as Vernon made his way to the front door.

'What's the likes of you doing here?' he heard his uncle thunder. 'You don't belong where respectable people live.'

'Then I must surely find welcome here', said a cold voice. 'But I shall sadly not be taking advantage of that. As soon as my errand is complete I will hasten on my way. I have been sent to check on Potter. He is now a burden on my time as he is on yours, although I, fortunately, will be only shortly inconvenienced.'

'Well, if you want to see the boy so much, have a gander, much the good it'll do you.'

Footsteps approached and the door was unlocked and opened. 'Out with you, boy!' Vernon barked at him. Then, turning to the man beside him, he said, in not much more pleasant tones, 'Well, what do you make of him? He isn't much, but he's a darn sight better than he would have been if we hadn't taken him in.'

Snape stared at Potter. He was nine and rail-thin and six inches shorter than his cousin who lingered in a door frame, too reluctant at his presence to enter.

'Better than what? He's clearly malnourished, and those bruises aren't making him any prettier. This is exactly the sort of thing that I am _not_ supposed to find on this inspection. Thanks to your less than perfect care, I now have to endure an extension of his miserable presence as I escort him to Dumbledore.'

'Some gratitude, after all we've done for him. Do we at least receive compensation for the past eight years?' said Petunia, who had joined them.

'The satisfaction of a job well done', Snape tossed back sarcastically. 'If we send him back here, I'm sure he'll arrive with a gift basket for all your hard work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off and I'll be taking him with me. You there!', turning to Harry at last, 'follow me.'

'Do as he says, boy', said Vernon. 'Take your things and go.'

Harry ducked back inside his cupboard and, after a moment of pondering, pulled his pillow out of its case and shoved his two changes of clothes inside along with all his socks and the yo-yo that he had found at school. He then pulled his shoes onto his feet and exited the cupboard.

'You don't even have a normal luggage? Well, if you're quite done, hurry up, I'm not here on vacation', Snape called from the front porch, having already made his way outside.

Harry went out to the man whose name he didn't even know and followed as the man strode briskly down to the street corner.

'Hold!' the man said, with his hand extended stiffly. Harry grasped it and felt a sudden squeezing along his entire body. He tried to release the hand but found he had no control over any part of his body. In the middle of thinking that he was surely going to pass out, he found a gasping breath entering his lungs. They were standing before massive wrought iron gates, behind which a castle loomed in the distance.


	2. Introduction to Hogwarts

Dumbledore looked at Harry with concern as Harry avoided his gaze. He had sent Severus merely to ascertain that all was well. He had hoped that the Dursleys would overcome their morbid dislike of magic for the sake of an innocent child. Obviously, he was mistaken. This sickly child needed to be restored to proper health, and with Voldemort all but unheard of for eight years, it would seem that it was safe to remove Harry from his aunt and uncle's care. Safer, indeed, than leaving him there. He would have to be careful, of course. He didn't believe for a minute that Voldemort was truly vanquished.

What to do? Fostering Harry out would be easy, but hardly a safe choice. Even the most well intentioned people could not guarantee Harry's safety as well as the blood protection. Not to mention the dangers of thrusting an unprepared child into the center of the public eye.

No, Harry must be kept where he could control the situation: Hogwarts. But Harry wasn't due to be a student for another year. He wouldn't be able to join the student quarters until he was sorted. He would need a caretaker in the meantime. Someone to be counted on to keep him out of trouble and nurture him until he could join the school as a proper student.

He thought of how Severus had been persuaded to check on Harry, the last remnant of Lily Evans. Severus might be a bit grim at times, but there would be none as dedicated as he in looking after Harry, and his resentment of James Potter was surely not as strong as that of the Dursley's toward magic.

'Severus,' spoke Albus 'I want you to look after Harry. Hogwarts is the best place for him, but he'll need someone to watch out for him.'

'There is no staff shortage. I believe you'll find an abundance of able-bodied adults in this school, all better suited to waiting on the needs of a child than I am.'

'I don't believe that there is anyone more capable than you. Excepting myself, of course.' Dumbledore chuckled, then smiled at Harry. 'You have much to learn about the magical world, I'm sure. Heed Professor Snape here and you'll do fine.'

To Severus he said 'I'll send Filius to your quarters to arrange for an adjoining room to be added. I'm certain he can manage to contort the castle to suit our needs. In the meantime, do give Harry a tour around the castle. And try to be forbearing. He's only nine.'

Snape wound down the headmaster's staircase with Harry in tow. Harry followed with questions bubbling inside of him, but his Dursley enforced inhibitions prevented him from voicing them. Snape strode down the corridor without bothering to check if he was being followed. From time to time he threw out an explanation about something they passed, or a warning.

'Don't think you can sneak around in this castle. The portraits are mostly busybodies who have nothing better to do than spy on errant students.'

'The candles are under a simple hovering spell. Something even you could manage to learn someday, if you don't waste your magical education on frippery.'

'You aren't to do magic until you have a wand, but if you're not as dim as you look... unlikely...', flicking Harry a glance, 'you'll keep your eyes and ears open to pick up as much magical knowledge as you can this next year. You'll certainly need all the help you can get.'

'Hello there Snape! What's that you got there?' An enormous man peered at Harry over a bushy beard.

'_This_ is the Potter boy. The headmaster has deemed it fit to give me custody _and_ appointed me as tour guide. As though my time was as empty as _some_ people's.' Here he looked significantly at Hagrid.

'Harry Potter! Thought I wouldn't be seein' you 'til next year, and here you are, a year early and here in summer to boot. If you really are stayin' up at the castle, why don't yeh pop by and visit me sometime. Mine's the little hut out there on the grounds. It gets awful lonely when everybody's off for the summer. I could show you there now if you haven't any objection to me giving you your tour. I just gotta get something first to take care of them snaggleroot weeds that've been coming outa the forest.'

'By all means, take him. And be sure to give him a thorough tour. I don't want to see him before supper.' Snape was gone so fast that Harry couldn't be sure which passage he had taken.

'Don't mind him, Harry. He's like that with everybody. Professor Snape's just got kinda a cold shoulder. You come with me now and we'll get that weed extractor.'

After they retrieved a box labeled 'Edils: for organic disposal', Harry and Hagrid went out to the rim of the forest. They stopped by a range of mustard coloured clumps. Harry watched as the large man opened the box and shook out tiny, flat bugs over the plants.

'You've got to watch out for these buggers. They'll eat all the roots that these snaggleroots send out so they won't grow back, but they'll do for everything else too. They only pack males in here though, so they can't reproduce, and they only live about twenty hours, so they can't do too much damage. I'm going to have to put some more on tomorrow, just to be sure to get all them roots. You have any questions? Haven't said much so far, but I reckon you'll find something that interests you. Lots to do around here. Only about an hour 'til supper, but you can have a bite at my place to tide you over, if you like. You could do with some fattening.'

'Yes, thank you', answered Harry. He didn't know what to make of all the strangeness about this place, which everyone here so easily dismissed as magic, but he suspected that this was what his aunt and uncle had been referring to in all those years of mentioning his 'freakishness'. One year and he'd be a student here, that meant he could do magic too, just like that man, Snape, who brought him here, which must be miles away from everywhere, from the corner of Privet Drive.

They entered the cottage and Hagrid brought out some... brownies? Harry accepted one and bit into it. It felt as though the brownie was resisting every millimeter that his teeth sank into it, and when he tried to lift his teeth back out, the brownie fought him on that too. He was hungry though, so he stuck the brownie back between his molars and worked them until the brownie was defeated. His jaw was aching by then, so he declined another one and hoped that he would get to eat at supper. At least that seemed more promising here than at the Dursley's.


	3. Settling In

The Great Hall appeared larger for its emptiness. Harry stared skyward and marveled at the strips of clouds that appeared there. Magic! What a world this was. If this was his new home, his life was going to be perfect.

'If you're quite done with the ceiling, there are matters to attend to nearer at hand.' The voice jolted him back to his senses. 'Supper, for one. If you're not too concerned about what your paparazzi will say about a weight gain, you might begin to put some meat on those twigs poking out of your torso.'

Snape, the intimidating man from the morning. Harry wished that he could live with Hagrid instead. Although his size had been daunting at first, after being with him all afternoon he hardly even noticed anymore how massive Hagrid was. And Hagrid, at least, was friendly.

'Where should I sit?' Harry asked. There were five tables, but only the one on the dais had places set. Dumbledore and Hagrid, along with a very short man and a gnarly man with a sour face, already were seated at the table. Beside the short man were two empty place settings, while the majority of the table remained empty.

'You can take the one on the end there. That is, if you don't think you're too good for the company.' And with that, Snape seated himself next to the short man.

'A pleasure to meet you, Harry Potter', beamed the short man, leaning around Snape. 'I've arranged your quarters. I hope you'll find them to your satisfaction.'

'Yes. I must thank you for coming in to help with the matter, Filius', said Dumbledore, turning to them. 'We had rather short notice about this, and I had business of my own to attend to. It really was good of you to assist.'

'Glad to, glad to. And it gives me a chance to have some Hogwarts cuisine. I never eat quite so well when I do my own cooking.'

Snape was scowling at his food as he ate. Harry wished he could shake the man from what seemed to be a perpetual bad mood. Or was this anger simply because _he_ was there, like it was with the Dursleys? Harry resolved to be quiet and unobtrusive around Snape, the method that had worked best, although not always successfuly, with the Dursleys.

Harry savored the food, enjoying it all the more after eating so little and then stomaching that brownie of Hagrid's. He didn't mind in the least that the food had startled him with its sudden appearance on his plate.

He was still in the middle of a potato when Snape finished eating and stood up and said 'Come on! You'll never find the way to my quarters yourself.'

Harry gazed sadly at the remains of the best meal he could remember, and followed Snape out of the Great Hall.

After passing through many long corridors and descending many flights of stairs, Harry and Snape stood outside a lone door at the end of a short, bare passage lit by one torch. Snape pulled out his wand and flicked it at the door. He then opened the door and stepped inside. Harry barely had time to enter before the door shut on him.

Snape gestured to a door that stood next to a large fireplace. 'That', he said, 'must be your accommodations. The rest,' he swept his hand around the room, 'is all mine. Kindly remember that and keep out of my way.' Snape disappeared through another door beside the one he had identified as Harry's.

Harry looked around the room, which had an armchair before the fireplace, a bookcase with heavy tomes, and a chair by a small table. Along with the door they had come in, the one Snape had disappeared into, and his door, there were two other doors on the opposite wall. Not wanting to be in around if Snape came back out, and curious about his room, Harry entered his room. It was small, but with a sizable bed, next to which was a nightstand and a short chest of drawers. A door-less frame led to a washroom.

Enormously pleased with his very own room, Harry cleaned his teeth in the washroom, which contained all the necessities, and tucked himself into bed. He fell asleep considering his abrupt change in fortune.


	4. Chapter 4

When Harry awoke, he was disoriented by his surroundings. Then he had a burst of clarity and leaped out of bed, he was so excited. He opened the drawers in his dresser and found his spare clothes folded neatly in the top one. Harry dressed and made his way into the central room of Snape's quarters. Snape was reading at the small table with a teacup next to him. At the sound of Harry's door he looked over and sneered at Harry, but made no comment.

Harry wanted breakfast for himself, and even though he wasn't at all sure that he could find the Great Hall, he thought he'd have a better chance at that than getting Snape to share his tea. He hoped Snape would warm up to him eventually. Otherwise, living here was going to remind him of the Dursleys an awful lot.

When he reached the door leading out of Snape's quarters, Snape called 'Where are you going? I'm going to take you up to Dumbledore's office, but you'll have to wait until I've finished my tea. I _was_ prepared to take you earlier, but as you decided to take your own sweet time waking up, I fixed myself a cup. I certainly wasn't going to sit around waiting for you.'

Harry settled into the armchair and watched Snape slowly sip his tea and then set his cup down to flip a page in his book. The man's hair hung just above his shoulders, falling forward the slightest bit whenever he reached to pick up his teacup. He had a thin frame, although he was not undernourished as Harry was, and he was a bit pale. The fingers that turned the pages of his book were slender and long. Harry read the title of the book: _Exploring the Accumulation Effect of Semi-Redundant Ingredients ._ It didn't seem like breakfast reading, but perhaps that was only because Harry was accustomed to Uncle Vernon and his newspaper.

He wanted to ask the questions that had been accumulating since Snape had taken him from the Dursleys, of which Hagrid had answered only a few. Currently, Snape was intent on his book, but on their way to what he hoped was breakfast he wouldn't be interrupting anything.

Snape finally drained the last of his tea and stood up. Standing up, he swept past Harry and opened the door. He stood holding open the door and glared at Harry, who hopped up and went out. Snape then shut the door and gestured at it with his wand.

As they went up the castle, Harry asked 'Can you do magic without your wand?'

'Yes, although I hardly expect the students here to be able to focus their magic without a wand. They think they'll never need to do without it so they don't bother to train themselves.'

'You don't teach them that? Then what do you teach?'

'Potions, which requires far more delicacy of skill than most students posses. They want an immediate result from their magic. Now hush! My thoughts are more important than your babbling.'

'Ah, Harry. There you are. I wanted to speak to you over breakfast, but I expected you rather a while ago.'

'He slept quite late. It seems he hasn't been taught that humans are diurnal', was Snape's explanation before he took his leave.

Harry fumed inwardly. It couldn't be past eight, and he had been awake for at least half an hour. Most of the delay was on Snape's account. The injustice!

'No matter! You shall eat and listen.' Dumbledore tapped his wand on an empty plate that lay across the desk from him and it filled with sausages, toast and marmalade, and a fried egg.

'Thank you', said Harry, sitting down. As he cut into his sausages, Dumbledore began to speak.

'As you are not of an age to be enrolled at Hogwarts, you will be unable to learn the practical side of magic, but you need not squander your early arrival. I have arranged for you to take lessons from Professor Binns, our History of Magic teacher. He resides in the castle, so it will be no inconvenience. In this way, you will be better prepared when you _do_ officially enroll. When term begins, we shall look into you sitting in on other classes. And in your free time, you may explore the castle and grounds. Anywhere that is readily accessible should be permissible, other than the Forbidden Forest, though perhaps there are places that escape my mind at the moment. Also, you must stay within the castle grounds for the protection of Hogwarts extends no further. Now, when you've finished your breakfast, off you trot! You have the entire day to yourself. Your lessons with Professor Binns begin next Monday. If you get hungry, you'll find the kitchens down a staircase next to the Great Hall. Tickle the pear to get in.'

Harry scoffed the last of his food down and left Dumbledore's office.


End file.
